Immortal Road.

"not good!"

Lin Shan felt every pore on his body trembling and contracting; he could clearly sense just how terrifying this lock-on was.

Across countless stars and light-years, the intense sense of impending death suffocated him in an instant.

go!
Wind Escape Technique is completely useless, because this is outer space of another universe, and there is no corresponding wind spiritual energy for him to borrow. The only thing he can rely on is movement technique.

Thunder and lightning strike the void!

Swish swish swish swish swish swish swish swish~
Nine illusory forms of wind and thunder appeared simultaneously, all scattering in all directions.

The next moment, a distant blue light suddenly shot out, incredibly fast even though it was infinitely far away, and exploded directly at the original target location!
The surging, intersecting light pollution continuously filled the field of vision, instantly covering an area of ​​dozens of miles in radius.

The five illusory bodies that were slow to escape perished on the spot.

Lin Shan's main body escaped unscathed, but he was marked again, clearly indicating that he still hadn't escaped the other party's notice.

His attempts to conceal himself with the Zodiac Spirit Cloud and the Virtual Star Chart were useless; the technological detection methods employed by the other side were crystal clear, and in this universe, that was the ultimate truth!
To leave, one must possess extreme speed and an unpredictable trajectory.

He didn't have time to find Zhang Yunxi, so he could only keep running in the starry sky, with blue waves chasing him in ring after ring. The entire galaxy was staging a grand fireworks display!
Unlike the previous illusion, where he only needed to escape the sight of the Holy Lord of Penglai to complete the illusion, this time he ran an unknown distance but couldn't escape the lock-on at all, as if the entire galaxy was right under the other party's nose.

"Brother Kong, Brother Kong, where are you?"

In desperation, he called upon the patriarch of the Kong family, unsure if the old man was still able to move. He had been busy catching up with Zhang Yunxi on the void warship and hadn't had time to deal with the old man earlier.

Later, the void warship was destroyed, and the Kong family patriarch should still be in the same place, so this illusion should have no effect on him.

When he finally returned to the place where he started, he found that the other person was no longer there!

"Oops!"

He was under intense pressure, feeling like he was being pricked by thorns, but in a moment of carelessness, he was separated from the patriarch of the Kong family, so neither of them could help him.

Stay calm in critical moments.

"They must still be nearby; they probably haven't gone far."

Lin Shan immediately began searching the nearby starry sky, but after failing to find anyone, he simply set his sights on the huge blue star in front of him.

huh~
As his main body and a host of illusory forms rushed toward that star, the terrifying fluctuations behind him seemed to be suddenly enraged, and a terrifying energy that shook the entire starry sky began to boil!
This also extends the scope of the lock-on!
"Master Lin, where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Just at this time,

The patriarch of the Kong family suddenly appeared not far below, trembling with excitement. Upon seeing Lin Shan, he took him and drove off without saying a word.

Just as they left the place, an incredibly thick beam of light, over a hundred miles wide, shot out from behind and completely pierced through the star!
bang~
Ka Ka Ka Ka
In the vacuum, the silent shattering was deafening at the soul level, decimating all life on the entire star.

Blue Star is shattered into pieces!

Lin Shan turned around with a horrified look. The blinding energy burst was nothing but a white blur. Only the Kong family patriarch seemed to be an outsider, just pulling him along as they sped away.

Especially when he saw that the man's face was pale and that he was being injured by some aftershocks from time to time, he immediately realized that this was no safe place and sped away without stopping.

The patriarch of the Kong family also seemed to be at a critical moment, and could only keep running for his life. The two could be described as brothers in misfortune.

Because he was a bit slow, Lin Shan thought he was wasting his time, so he simply turned around, grabbed him, and started running.

"Yes, left, right, and right again, but don't go ahead."

Under the command of the Kong family patriarch, Lin Shan rapidly turned and changed positions, carrying the old man as they sped through the starry sky.

Finally a moment came.

"Alright, finally got rid of him!"

The patriarch of the Kong family breathed a sigh of relief. Without Lin Shan, he probably wouldn't have been able to pass the test so easily.

The instant he finished, he instantly broke free from the illusion.

They even dragged Lin Shan out with them!
The scene before them changed instantly, and they synchronized. They realized that the third round of illusion had ended, and the large orange halo behind them was shrinking slightly and gradually fading away.

The situation is back on track.

The fifth level of the Mortal World Star Sea!
"Hu~~"

Gasping for breath, Lin Shan asked him what had happened in the illusion.

Unexpectedly, what the patriarch of the Confucius family said was even more outrageous, and even he was terrified when he heard it!
"I arrived at the end of an era when Confucian and Taoist civilizations were flourishing. At that time, the world was filled with the spirit of literature, and Confucian sages were preaching everywhere. It was an unprecedentedly prosperous age. Unfortunately, it was met with a surging, desolate black tide that submerged everything."

"The end of the Confucian and Taoist era?"

No wonder this old man can run so fast; anyone would be terrified in his place.

However, such a trend was not something that ordinary people could decide. The patriarch of the Kong family followed the tide and witnessed the great calamity of the era, his emotions fluctuating wildly.

Fortunately, Lin Shan was fast enough to pull him out of the near-submersion.

As long as he can escape to the rear during the early stages of the Great Cataclysm and avoid the wave of world destruction, he will have passed the test of the illusion. After all, he is only a Nascent Soul cultivator and cannot be expected to turn the tide.

And it was precisely because he passed through that illusion first that he was able to pull Lin Shan, who was trapped inside, out along the way.

Thus, the two of them suddenly found a shortcut!
Lin Shan led the Kong family patriarch on a runaway trip. After the Kong family patriarch escaped from the illusion, he led the others out, and the two of them came out together!
This is not a loophole in the mortal world, but rather a case of "when heaven closes all doors, man closes all doors."

That's why you need a reliable friend to team up with and come here together.

Let's take a break first.

The two were exhausted. The maglev track below continued to move into the distance. There were far fewer disciples of the Haoran Holy Land along the way. Clearly, the third illusion was very difficult and had trapped many people.

However, what the Holy Land has in abundance is disciples; they can recruit as many as they want. What they lack are true elites!
A large number of people die in each round of the Spirit Tide Battlefield, but in the eyes of the higher-ups, these are nothing.

During his recuperation, Lin Shan revisited the three illusions.

Gradually, I grasped some patterns and gained a general understanding of the situation.

Clearly, Sailor Moon, Lin Fan, Chicken Brother, Zhang Yunxi, and others are all his closest friends and relatives in this life, and the scenes presented are all related to their past and future.

And isn't this exactly the worry that has always been in my heart?

Unfortunately, due to the interference of the Ice Serpent, the first illusion did not bring any useful omens for Sailor Moon. Instead, she obtained her natal spirit treasure, the Moon Pattern Silver Sword.

The second encounter with the Holy Lord of Penglai, after which he escaped, greatly improved his abilities.

He didn't even pass the third level, and he barely had a chance to talk to Zhang Yunxi. It was truly hellish difficulty, and he only managed to get out by cheating.
Aside from these people, he figured he had nothing else to worry about.

The heavy weight in my heart slowly lifted.

Looking at the approaching fourth halo, a small, dark halo, Lin Shan and the Kong family patriarch exchanged a glance, estimating that the difficulty shouldn't be too great, and that they could handle it on their own.

Of course, to ensure safety, they exchanged a communication item to facilitate timely detection and sensing.

The track beneath my feet propelled me into the orbit, causing a sudden upheaval in the surrounding magnetic field, and in an instant, my entire body felt numb!
Huh~~~
Lin Shan opened his eyes again.

Tick-tick~tick-tick~
The crisp sound of dripping water echoed in the cool, quiet cave.

The surroundings were quiet, and an invisible chill was spreading. Although it was pitch black, one could sense that this was a narrow passageway.

The patriarch of the Kong family sent him a telepathic message that he was not in immediate danger and then moved on to the back. Relying on his senses, he descended the steps and ventured deeper into the other side, separating from the patriarch and slowly making his way forward in the dark.

Soon they arrived at the dripping water.

The sound was coming from the cave in front. There was a dark metal doorway that gleamed faintly. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an iron fence, and inside was a prisoner.

The person was curled up in a ball, leaning against the corner of the wall, motionless.

Lin Shan felt a strange sense of familiarity, but didn't recognize him, and called out softly a couple of times.

There was no response from the other party, as if they had become a corpse.

He casually picked up an iron rod from the wall; the tip had barbs and a branding iron, and it looked like some kind of torture instrument, which was just leaning there carelessly.

He stuck the stick in and poked the person, and this time there was a response.

Beneath the black robe, a trembling pupa emitted a faint breath of life, seemingly slowly awakening.

at last,

Lin Shan waited patiently.

The figure gradually sat up straight, just about to lean against the cave wall to stand up, but seemed unable to support itself, and heard the clattering of joints under the fabric.

One careless mistake,
"Click it."

It fell directly to the ground and shattered into pieces!
"?"

Lin Shan quickly threw away the iron rod in his hand.

I didn't do that!

I just poked you, and you're trying to scam me from inside the jail? What kind of nonsense is this?
"Ouch."

The faint sound was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

Lin Shan pressed his cochlea against the fence to listen, and it seemed to be coming from the puddle on the ground.

"What are you doing, ouch?"

This is?

It looks so familiar.
Could it be,

Could it be!

"Brother Black Skull?"

He asked softly into the room, his voice uncertain.

The mass on the ground slowly writhed, the black robe covering it was lifted, and several black leg bones gradually emerged from beneath.

It's me.

Really?!

Lin Shan was suddenly startled.

To be honest, after all these years of traveling all over the country, I, Lin, have really forgotten about this bastard!

Especially now that the Xun Gu Sect and Kun Sect are full of talents, the Nascent Soul stage cultivators have long since broken through to the point of having two hands, and they are no less capable than the traitor Black Skull Demon Lord.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't surprised to suddenly encounter the Black Skull Demon Lord in this illusion.

He hadn't seen him for years and was quite curious about where the guy had gone.

"Brother, you've finally come to save me!"

The mass of black bones slowly moved under the black robe, a sight that was both heartbreaking and arduous to watch. Two shin bones were exposed, and the sword and knife marks on them were even more shocking!
"What happened? How could this happen? Who did this?"

Lin Shan's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but feel a little heavy-hearted, because although the skeleton's joints were loose, its bones were still quite hard.

Not to mention the fact that a master craftsman and a long-term body tempering technique could leave so many scratches on his bones, it is easy to deduce that he was at least besieged by Nascent Soul stage cultivators!

"Brother, you finally remembered me! You have to stand up for me!"

The Black Skull Demon Lord's weak and trembling voice was choked with sobs. It was hard to imagine the inhuman torture he had suffered over the years, being imprisoned in a dark and sunless underground cave. "Is this a place for a human to live?"
Lin Shan quickly comforted it:
"Don't rush, tell me slowly. What happened? Why are you locked up here? Who is holding you here? And where is this place?"

The Black Skull Demon Lord grumbled and dawdled, and the pupa didn't seem to make a move for a long time.

"Back then, during the Wan Hui Nian spiritual tide, on a whim, I went to the Pilo Desert in search of opportunities. I followed the trail and inquired my way to the headquarters of the Joyful Cult. After infiltrating, I started from the bottom and gradually approached its core secrets."

"and many more!"

Lin Shan interrupted him directly, clearly not one to be easily fooled.

"You were staying peacefully in the Xun Gu Sect, so why did you suddenly go to the Piluo Desert? It's not far from Tianfu Mountain, so how could you easily become connected to it?"

"Uh"

The Black Skull Demon Lord was clearly stunned.

He then stammered an explanation:

"Well, sigh, it's really hard to say. The main thing is that I've heard that deep within the Joyful Sect in the Pilo Desert lies a method of creating a golden body through incense offerings, which can preserve the physical body for a thousand years without decaying. So I want to wrap my skeleton with a layer of flesh as a cover."

"Oh?"

Lin Shan hadn't expected it was because of this.

Upon closer examination, the Black Skull Demon Lord's skeleton frequently malfunctions, making his body fragile and prone to crumbling. If he were encased in a muscular membrane, his stability would indeed be greatly enhanced, and his safety and ability to conceal his identity would be significantly improved.

No longer will I have to hide under a black robe and cover myself up completely. Now that I have a physical body, I can show myself openly and honestly. The temptation is quite great.

"Okay, continue. What's next?"

The Black Skull Demon Lord was about to suffer a tragic fate. The sound of grinding teeth could be faintly heard, and the hatred in his teeth echoed in the passage.

"I lay low and patiently searched within the Joyful Sect, finally finding the whereabouts of the Incense Golden Body Method, but I inadvertently stumbled upon a secret meeting between the Joyful Sect and the Black Lotus Sect!"

"At that time, Gu Hun, the leader of the Joyful Sect, and the Nascent Soul Dharma King of the Black Lotus Sect were meeting to discuss how to resurrect the Joyful God. I was eavesdropping when they suddenly noticed something was wrong, saw through my disguise, and immediately attacked me!"

"They ganged up on me, showed no martial ethics, united all the Nascent Soul cultivators from both sects, activated their sect-protecting formation to suppress and capture me, and then subjected me to inhuman torture."

Lin Shan pondered for a moment upon hearing this. It seemed that Gu Hun, the eldest disciple of the Joyful God Lord, had indeed had contact with the Black Lotus Sect before his death. He never expected that the Black Skull Demon Lord would be so unlucky as to be caught by someone.

Given this skeleton's nature, it's possible it would simply surrender if it couldn't win, and being captured would be entirely expected.

"And then? I remember that as soon as I came out of the pass, I received a message from you that you had sent back to the Xun Gu Sect, asking for help. They said they were trapped in a certain place and asked me to go and rescue them immediately."

Black Skull Demon Lord agreed, saying that after he was captured, his first thought was definitely Lin Shan, which is why he went through all sorts of trouble to pass on the information.

But to everyone's surprise, he didn't come, no matter how long he waited!
Instead, Gu Hun handed him over to the envoy, who then escorted him to the Black Lotus Sect.

(End of this chapter)